System setup and notes
| Graphics cards | Inno3D
GeForce GTX 285 OVERCLOCK 1,024MB |
GIGABYTE
GeForce GTX 285 1,024MB |
Inno3D
GeForce GTX 280 1,024MB |
Inno3D GeForce GTX 260 OC |
Sapphire
Radeon HD 4870 X2 2,048MB |
Sapphire
Radeon HD 4850 X2 2,048MB |
Sapphire
Radeon HD 4870 1,024MB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £340
(estimated) |
£315 | £275 |
£245 | £345 |
£260 | £217 |
| Shader model | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Stream processors | 240 | 240 | 240 | 216 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 800 |
| GPU clock speed (MHz) | 700 | 648 | 612 | 620 | 750 | 625 | 750 |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 1,476 | 1,476 | 1,296 | 1,242 | 750 | 625 | 750 |
| Memory clock speed (MHz) | 2,560 | 2,484 | 2,214 | 2,100 | 3,600 | 1,986 | 3,600 |
| Memory bus width (Bits) | 512 | 512 | 512 | 448 | 512 (2 x 256) | 512 (2 x 256) | 256 |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 LGA775 (3.0GHz, 12MB L2 cache, quad-core) | ||||||
| Motherboard | EVGA CK132 -NF79 (nForce 790i Ultra SLI) | MSI X48 Platinum (X48+ICH9R) | |||||
| Motherboard BIOS | P06 | v2.3 | |||||
| Mainboard software | NVIDIA device driver 15.17 | Intel Inf 9.0.0.1008 | |||||
| Memory | 4GB Corsair XMS3 DHX (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1,333 | ||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24 1T @ DDR3-1,333 | ||||||
| PSU | Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1,000W | ||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | ||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Seagate 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (3Gb/s mode) | ||||||
| Graphics driver | ForceWare 181.20 | ForceWare 181.20 | ForceWare 180.48 | ForceWare 180.48 | Catalyst 9.1 beta | Catalyst 8.12 | Catalyst 9.1 beta |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Business SP1, 64-bit | ||||||
Software
| 3D Benchmarks | Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts v2.103: DX10 - very
high quality Far Cry 2 v1.01 - very high quality Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.5, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark. OpenGL - very high quality Race Driver: GRID v1.2, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark - ultra quality Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare v1.7, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark: DX9 - very high quality |
|---|
Notes
We've included a glut of cards that are priced between £200 and £350 - the premium end of the market, if you will. Sapphire's recent price-cuts have brought the twin-GPU Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB and in-house-designed Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB cards very much into the reckoning. We've included the not-yet-available-to-public CATALYST 9.1 beta drivers for the ATI cards, but hey make little or no difference when compared to 8.12s.The £400 GeForce GTX 295 is missing here, but you can read all about it in the original review and day-zero GTX 285 look at the Gigabyte card.
Real-world gaming benchmarks were run at 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,200 and 2,560x1,600. We've also added in decent amounts of image quality, too.
